The Hardest Question
by Magellan
Summary: Hayate asks Kaoru a difficult question. Implied HayatexHimeno, oneshot.


**Title:** The Hardest Question

**Author:** Tess

**Disclaimer**: Pretear and its characters are not mine, and I'm making no money from this.

**Rating**: K

* * *

Humming merrily to himself, Kaoru worked on his newest sculpture. He just knew that it was going to be a masterpiece, and Natsue was going to be so impressed! After all, it represented her -- a physical manifestation of his love for her. He stood back to look at the statue in the sunlight filtering through the windows of his workshop. It was nearly perfect, but in this situation, anything less than absolutely flawless wasn't enough. He sighed and chewed on his lower lip. What was missing? Brushing some of his brown hair out of his eyes, he scrutinized the statue.

At that moment, Hayate entered the workshop carrying in the bags of art supplies that Kaoru had requested earlier. Kaoru was so busy trying to figure out what to do next that he didn't hear anyone else in the room until Hayate unceremoniously dropped the bags on the workbench. The resulting clatter made him jump into the air, whirling around to face the blue-haired man.

"Ah! Who – what? Oh, it's only you, Hayate-kun. You startled me!" Kaoru laughed at himself for being given such a fright by one of his own employees. Things were finally back to normal after what had happened a few years ago with his daughter, Himeno, but he was still a little on edge sometimes. Of course, the important thing was that his family was safe, and with these knights all around them, he was certainly assured of that.

He had offered to let Hayate go -- to spend more time on his knight duties, whatever those were. It seemed ridiculous to have a man who had helped to save the world doing odd jobs around the house. But Hayate had been stubborn and refused even the pay raise Kaoru tried to give him. From the way he had been acting lately -- and from some of the things the children had blurted out -- Kaoru suspected that Hayate didn't stay because he liked the work. He stayed in order to spend more time with Himeno. However, Kaoru didn't mind much. The way he saw it, his daughter could do worse than a world-rescuing knight. And, in a way, Hayate reminded Kaoru of himself when he had first fallen for Natsue. Only more quiet, of course.

Speaking of quiet, Hayate still hadn't said anything. This was decidedly odd. While he was always a laconic sort, Hayate usually made an effort to say something when Kaoru addressed him directly. This was nice, since Kaoru tended to start up one-sided conversations with him when he said nothing, and nothing was lonelier than having a conversation with yourself!

"Hayate-kun!" he shouted merrily, stretching the honorific out like taffy, "What planet have you drifted off to?"

At this, Hayate turned his head to look at Kaoru, a small smile on his face. This surprised him; Hayate rarely smiled at all. He wondered what Hayate was thinking of.

"A beehive?" Hayate finally asked, amusement evident in his voice. He motioned to the statue.

Kaoru nodded, pleased. Hayate was always a good audience when Kaoru talked about his art. He never tried to interrupt or smash things.

Grinning from ear to ear, he punctuated his announcement with wild gestures. "It represents Natsue-san! See how it's shaped like her beautiful hair? Not only that, but the honey these bees would make if they were real would be as sweet as her love! And there are bees on the outside, since Natsue-san is always working so hard – like a bee, you know – and because she makes my heart go all buzzy with love for her!"

Hayate looked like he was actually trying to control a smile. Kaoru was glad; obviously he'd managed to cheer Hayate up a little! Poor Hayate was always so gloomy.

"Natsue-san is my wife," he continued, "and I love her very much. This statue will stand proudly as a symbol of our relationship! Don't you think so?"

Hayate suddenly looked as if he was choking on something, his eyes bulging slightly out of his head. Kaoru never understood the Knight's strange reactions to the things he said. As Kaoru pondered whether or not to say something to Hayate about this strange look, Hayate's face began to turn a fascinating shade of red. Maybe he _was_ choking.

"Hayate-kun," he asked, mildly worried, "are you all right?"

Hayate suddenly became very interested in the floor. Kaoru looked down, expecting to see an insect or something, but the only things he could see were their feet. He kept looking, wondering if perhaps Hayate's special, super-strong Knight senses were detecting something he wasn't.

After a few minutes, Hayate cleared his throat.

"Ah –" he started, but then seemed to think better of it. "Kaoru-san –"

"What is it?" Kaoru asked, confused.

"Well, ah. You were talking about your wife, and I like Himeno," he explained, rather nonsensically, "A lot. I . . . like Himeno a lot. And I wanted to ask you about her."

He didn't really look like he wanted to ask Kaoru anything. Helooked more like he wanted to run screaming into the forest. However, by now he was fairly sure where this conversation was going, and he wanted to show Himeno's boyfriend that he approved of their relationship. So he nodded, and waited for Hayate to spit the words out. And that might take a while. Hayate's mouth was working, but the words didn't appear to be coming out.

"I . . . Well, I – I'maskingforyourpermissiontomarryHimeno," he finally said in a rush. He then peered apprehensively at Kaoru, who was overjoyed. He flew over to Hayate and wrapped him in a massive hug.

"Of _course_ , Hayate-kun! Welcome to the family! We'll be so happy to have you!" he crowed, turning "so" into a multi-syllabic word. "That wasn't so difficult, asking me, was it? It's just practice, for when you ask Himeno!"

At this, Hayate looked panicked again, then pried Kaoru's arms off and bolted for the door.

"But don't worry about that!" Kaoru cried joyfully at Hayate's back as he fled the workshop, "I'm sure you'll be fine!"

Ah, what a fascinating man Himeno had chosen to spend her life with!


End file.
